A Lifetime in Days
by M.L. Fox
Summary: "Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going." - Tennessee Williams. A collection of short stories looking in the life of Sirius Black and Mary Macdonald.
1. Fear of the Dark

**Note:** Oh wow. This is the first ever fanfiction I've submitted here in a long time. Anyway, I found a thirty day one true pairing (otp) challenge post in Tumblr made by **Ericandy**. Since one of my otps is Sirius/Mary, I thought I'd have a bit of fun with the challenge in terms of experimenting with the themes, not so much with keeping with the schedule of the challenge, which I can't do anyway because I really suck at being on time. This is day one of the challenge.**  
**

I hope you like it. Reviews will be much appreciated.

* * *

**One**

**Fear of the Dark**

**(Holding Hands)**

"Scared of the dark, Macdonald?" Sirius asked mockingly when Mary suddenly grabbed his hand after Peeves had snuffed out all the candle light at once. They were in the middle of Potions when the poltergeist decided to _visit. _Now, the already dim classroom had become pitch black. Most of the students squealed in shallow fright and made a big fuss over the poltergeist's presence. Some tried to escape the classroom—to no avail because they couldn't find the door—the others were smart enough to light up their wands, and the rest… Merlin knew what they were doing. Sirius would have taken this opportunity to go to his friends, but he'd rather not enter the mess Peeves has splendidly made, thank you very much.

Macdonald didn't retort at his insult, but he wasn't paying attention anyway; he was more interested in listening to the chaos that resulted from Peeves' mischief. Sirius could barely hear Slughorn's voice, but he could make out the Potion Master's blubbering threats. He grinned when he heard Slughorn crash into the shelves of bottled potion ingredients. He enjoyed the noise of shattered glass and Slughorn's cry of disgust when some of the ingredients—presumably—landed on him. Overhead, Peeves continued to cackle madly and fire obscenities at everyone.

"Merlin," Sirius muttered with a wince as pain shot up his arm. He'd completely forgotten about Mary. "Macdonald, you're killing my hand."

Mary didn't loosen her hold. In fact, it felt like she hadn't heard him at all. Sirius frowned and thought that she was messing around. "Macdonald—" he began, but stopped when he heard her whimper in fear. He turned to her in disbelief; she _couldn't _really be afraid of the dark, could she? He no longer paid any attention to the chaos that continued to unravel in the room. He put his free hand on her shoulder and he was shocked to find that she was trembling violently.

"Macdonald," Sirius said, voice loud as he gently shook Mary's shoulders to rouse her. "Macdonald!"

Mary wouldn't answer. A cold feeling began to spread in his stomach as he realised the potential severity of what was happening to the girl. He could feel how short of breath she was and his other hand felt numb because she was holding on to it for dear life. With their close proximity, he could hear the little whimpers and sobs that escaped her. She couldn't stop shaking and she didn't move at all—it was like she was frozen. Sirius started to feel a little alarmed. He didn't know what to do; he didn't even know if he understood what was going on.

"Mary," Sirius said, making a decision as he took Mary's hands in between his own. He may not understand what was happening, but damned if he'd just leave Mary like this. She sounded like she was in incredible pain and he felt the strong need to protect her from it. "Mary, it's me. It's Sirius. Listen to me; you're going to be all right, okay? I'm here. I won't let anything bad happen to you," he squeezed her hands gently. "How about you tell me what's wrong, hmm? It might help—"

"Mary!"

Sirius jumped when Lily Evans appeared at his side. The light that spilled from the tip of her wand illuminated her face and Sirius noticed how worried she looked. She didn't even acknowledge him; her eyes were on Mary, looking over the girl like a mother would look over her daughter. Making a sound of frustration, she shoved Sirius' hands away and tenderly put a hand on the girl's back. She was like a protective blanket, shielding Mary away from the demons more effectively than Sirius did. The way Lily acted, he had a feeling that Mary has been through this before.

"Come on, let's get you out of the dark," Lily's voice was gentle, but firm as she quickly led Mary out of the room, wand held aloft so she could see where she was going.

It looked like she didn't need it. When she was halfway across the room, the lights returned to the classroom. Peeves was gone and left utter destruction in his wake. The tables were in disarray and parchment littered the floor. A few bottled ingredients had toppled off the shelves and crashed onto the floor. The potions that Slughorn had left brewing spilled from their cauldron, doing different kinds of damage on the floor. Students have started to file out of the room and some stayed behind to flounder about. Slughorn was covered in Merlin knew what and he was red in the face. He began to clean up, muttering under his breath about being under paid and reporting to Dumbledore about Peeves.

Sirius barely noticed. He hurried to follow Lily out of the classroom, still worried about Mary. She slumped against Lily, and even though she was capable of walking, her steps were weak. It was as though energy flowed out of her every time she put her foot forward.

"We're nearly out," Lily said. "Just breathe, all right? Count your breaths. Inhale at one, exhale at two; inhale at one, exhale at two—very good. You're doing well."

"What's happening to her?" Sirius asked Lily quietly when he managed to catch up.

"I don't have time for you, Black; go pester someone else."

Normally he would have been cross at her acerbic answer, but… "I want to help," he said, voice holding none of its usual arrogance.

Lily gave him a glare so sharp that it made him falter in his steps. "Not _now," _she said, teeth gritted. "I need to get Mary away from here."

Sirius stopped and let Lily go. The redhead's voice held a compelling tone of anger that made him realise that if he were to insist on getting answers then Mary wouldn't get the help she needed. He watched the two girls walk along the hallway that would lead them out of the dungeon. As they disappeared around the corner, Sirius hoped to Merlin that Mary would be all right.


	2. Sleepless

**Note:** I planned to submit this on Monday. I honestly did! But then loads of things happened and I couldn't focus on finishing this story, but hey, at least I managed to finish it before the first chapter turned two weeks old (hooray!)! So for the schedule of this, I decided around **Friday** or **Saturday**. Clearly releasing chapters on a Monday is a bit of a stretch for me.

Also, thank you to **Apalapucian** for the review! You are heaps kind! **Seriously, you are.** And to answer your questions: **most likely **and **most likely**.

I hope you like this. As always, any review is greatly appreciated.

* * *

**Two**

**Sleepless**

**(Cuddling Somewhere)**

Mary bit her lip as she slowly opened the doors that led to the backyard; she carefully stepped onto the deck and closed the doors behind her. She paused for a few minutes to make sure that she hadn't disturbed anyone, only allowing herself to breathe and relax until she was certain that the house remained as still and as quiet as ever. With a vague smile, she stretched her arms over her head before she sat on the top step. She sighed as she hugged her knees to her chest and rested her head against the banister. It was still dark outside—she could barely see where the backyard ended. Thank goodness there was adequate lighting all around the house or else she wouldn't even think of going outside.

It was half-past four in the morning and the graduation-slash-slumber party that James had thrown ended two hours ago. The Potter mansion was absolutely still now; a few hours ago the living room was party central and the house vibrated with life as loud music and laughter permeated the walls. Now, soft snores and muffled murmurs filled the room as the group slept soundly in their sleeping bags. They partied like wild animals, but they were quick to drop like flies after they were all partied out and couldn't take one more shot of firewhiskey or dance another minute in front of the fireplace. And even though she drank loads and gorged herself on junk food, Mary was the last of the group to sleep.

Well, she tried to.

She had spent an hour tossing and turning in her sleeping bag, trying to coax herself into slumber. Then she spent another hour just lying still once she conceded that even _attempting_ to sleep was moot. She stared blankly at the ceiling even though her thoughts ran a hundred miles per hour. The ringing silence pressed from all around her and made her feel slightly claustrophobic. Soon enough, she felt restless again. The next time she started to toss and turn, she made such a racket that Remus groaned in irritation. That was when she decided to spend her energy somewhere else. Hence, she ended up on the deck of the Potters' backyard, huddled into a ball, and staring at nothing.

"D'you mind some company?"

The gentle question startled Mary. She tipped her head back just in time to receive a kiss on her lips and a hot cup of tea in her hands. "No! No, I don't mind," she said, quickly wrapping her fingers around the cup. She watched as Sirius sat next to her, his own cup in one hand and a rolled up blanket tucked under his arm. "Sorry, did I disturb you?"

"Nah." Sirius placed the cup on the deck before he wrapped the blanket around the two of them. "I was on the way to the loo when I noticed that your sleeping bag was empty."

"Ah."

Sirius put his arm around Mary's shoulders and she quickly snuggled close to his side. She cradled the cup to her chest and sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder. It wasn't that cold outside, but Mary welcomed the complete warmth that cocooned her. Sirius' arm was heavy, but she instantly felt secure and protected. It's as if nothing and no one could harm her.

"Was the room too dark?" Sirius asked as Mary took a sip of tea. Strawberry. One of her favourites.

"Sorry?"

"Is that why you're out here _not sleeping_?"

"Oh," Mary chuckled. She stared into her tea and tapped her fingers idly against the ceramic as she bit her lip in thought. "No, it wasn't too dark. James was kind enough to leave a bit of light on for me, so."

Sirius gently kissed the side of her head. "So, what're you doing out here, then?"

Mary tipped her head up to look at him, a sheepish smile on her lips. "You'll think I'm silly."

"Macdonald, you _are_ silly—"

"Oh, brilliant—"

"But that doesn't meant I won't take you _seriously_," Sirius finished, playfully gritting his teeth. Mary squealed and laughed as he pinched her nose. He trapped her to him, making it difficult to escape, so she shook her head to get him off, but he was relentless—only stopping so he could continue his assault by leaning forward and rubbing his nose against hers. They picked on each other for a bit until Sirius conceded. Mary made a face at him as he kissed the top of her nose in apology. Small mercy she hadn't spilled tea all over their laps.

"All right, you insistent little twit," Mary said exasperatedly as she drank a generous amount of tea. "I couldn't sleep. I decided to spend time outside so I don't have to disturb the others."

"Why can't you sleep?"

"Well... I feel excited. Perhaps a little scared—okay, _heaps scared_, but definitely excited too."

"All right. Why d'you feel excited and scared?" Sirius asked, looking a bit baffled.

"Because we graduated, you dolt!" Mary said incredulously. "We are officially on our own. I don't know about you, but I have absolutely no idea what to do from here. It's terrifying and thrilling at the same time, you know?"

Now Sirius looked even more baffled. "I thought you wanted to be a writer and work at the Prophet?"

"Oh, I do, but do I _really_ want to do that, though?" Mary finished the rest of her tea and shrugged. "I never really had the chance to explore…_things_. You know? What if I have a midlife crisis in twenty years? The world is full of wonderful possibilities. I thought I'd travel or study a bit more before I go after a job at the Prophet, but then there's no chance to do that now because…"

"Because of the war?"

Mary's smile dimmed considerably. There came the crux. Probably half of the reason why she felt restless. "You know Hogwarts has kept us safe for seven years. We read about deaths and disappearances in the Prophet, but it all seemed so far away from us. We don't have that now and anything can happen at any minute. I could lose you all in one day. That's why I'm _scared_."

Sirius clucked his tongue in sympathy and pulled her closer to him. He pressed a tender kiss on her temple and rubbed her upper arm soothingly. Mary's sigh was slightly shaky as she rested her head on his shoulder again. "You're not going to lose us in one day—you're not going to lose us ever," Sirius murmured encouragingly. "Nothing will be easy from now on, that's true, but we all want to see the day the war's finally over and we get the freedom to do whatever we want without having to worry. We rely on _that_ to give us strength and keep us alive. We will fight to the best of our abilities, all right? We're nothing if not the best at what we do. So trust us, yeah? We're all going to get through this."

A few words wouldn't do anything to help alleviate Mary's worry about the future or the fact that she was still clueless as to what to do from this point, yet… she no longer felt worried. At least for now. For now, Sirius had managed to shove all her problems in a dark corner. For now, the fear she felt was in a place far away from her. For now, thanks to Sirius, she could relax. She quickly reached up and kissed the underside of Sirius' jaw. "Thank you."

"No worries," he said. "Anyway, I'm appalled that you actually considered travelling _without me_."

"James once told me how horrible you were as a travelling companion. I'd rather not risk ruining anything." Mary chuckled, appreciating the change in topic.

"Merlin, he's a prick."

The two of them laughed before they moved the conversation on to other subjects. At some point they daydreamed about their travels and they began to talk about the places they wanted to visit. Mary wanted to live a Bohemian lifestyle and explore the rest of Europe; perhaps she could paint all the things she saw. Sirius, on the other hand, would like to tackle Asia and maybe earn their travelling money through his flamboyant spell-casting. It was a romantic life, certainly impractical, and perhaps the stuff of dreams, but they were together and they had magic—any dream of theirs could come true.

They grew quiet when they ran out of things to say. They waited for the sun to rise completely and for the first day of the rest of their lives to begin. Faintly, the early birds began to chirp their song to the morning dew and to the flowers that began to bloom. Sirius and Mary had set their respective cups to one spot so they could snuggle against each other without worry. The sky slowly began its transition from deep midnight blue to azure as the golden rays of the sun gently coaxed the darkness to the other side of the world. Mary closed her eyes and listened as England slowly roused from slumber. Each soft rush of sound reminded her of a lullaby and combined with the steady rhythm of Sirius' breaths, she immediately felt drowsy.

At sunrise Mary had, finally, fallen asleep.


	3. Movie Night

**Note:** **I suck for not updating in a while**. I had a bit—no, I had _heaps_ of trouble writing this chapter. I wanted the story in this chapter to be cool and deep, but I couldn't narrate it the way I wanted to narrate it; that was one of the reasons why this took so long (of course, that's no excuse). In the end I gave up on the cool and deep idea, and I just went with the next best thing. I just hope that the next best thing worked better than the first attempt.

**I'd love to thank those who followed this story and made it their favourite. This all means the world to me, really!**

* * *

**Three**

**Movie Night  
**

**(**Gaming/**Watching a Movie)**

"You look confused. Are you all right?"

_Confused_ would be putting it mildly. "I just don't understand what this whole place is about," Sirius said as he flapped a hand towards the…_cinema_, as Mary called it. The appearance of the place completely flummoxed him. Being a wizard, he'd seen some strange things, but _this_… this took the cauldron cake.

"What don't you understand?" Mary said, chuckling. He didn't miss the way she slipped her hands in her trouser pockets and rocked back on her heels; it was possibly one of the cutest things she'd done today.

"You said that _movies_ are these moving pictures Muggles watch, yeah?"

"That's right."

"Where is it, then?" Sirius raised his brows at her pointedly as he kept flapping his hand towards the cinema.

Mary chuckled again. Her grin was so wide and so amused that if Sirius didn't feel so confused, he would have returned it. "We don't watch the movie outside. We watch it inside."

"Inside the…? Inside the building? Why?"

"Well, it's darker and cosier inside, which is perfect for watching a movie."

Sirius' eyes widened and he dropped his hand. "You watch it… in the dark?" he said incredulously.

"Yep," Mary said cheerfully.

"I—okay." Sirius shook his head and breathed deeply. If he bothered to ask _why_ Muggles would want to watch moving pictures in the dark, he had a feeling he'd end up more confused. "All right. Can I ask another question?"

"Of course."

"If the movie's _inside_, then what's the purpose of _that_?"

Sirius resumed flapping his hand towards the cinema again, this time he was flapping _specifically_ at the top half of the building's front. The top half had a white background with black lines running along it. On those lines were words he had trouble understanding even though they were in English. It acted as a kind of roof over the bottom half, which was hollowed out. Up until Mary told him that the movie was inside, he thought that they'd be sitting on the floor and watching the movie on the bit with the white background. He thought it was a quiet night when he noticed that no one was sitting on the floor waiting for the movie to appear, for Merlin's sake.

"Movie titles," Mary answered promptly. "Helps the people to decide what they want to watch or if the movie they wanted to watch was showing here."

"What, not all cinemas show the same movies?"

"Not all of them, no."

"Why?"

Mary raised her brows and looked away as she frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose some cinemas have different, er, rules for the movies they want to show?"

"Godric." Sirius pinched the bridge of his nose before he combed his fingers through his hair in the exact same way James did whenever he stressed about a Quidditch match. He was fully aware of what he was getting into when he told Mary that he'd like to see the things she did whenever she wasn't at Hogwarts, but he was certainly not aware of, well, of how overwhelming it would all be.

"You know, we can do something else if this is all too strange for you."

"No," Sirius blurted as he looked at Mary. She looked concerned for him, yet he felt a stab of guilt at his blatant weakness at handling all this information about her world. "I'm fine. I'm just getting used to things."

Mary eyed him in disbelief. "You sure? It's all right if you have something else in mind."

"Don't be silly, Mary." Sirius took her hand and bravely led her inside the cinema even though he didn't know _exactly_ where he was going. "I said I wanted to see a bit of your world, right? So let me see it."

Mary giggled, but she didn't say anything, and that was just as well because the moment Sirius stepped foot inside the cinema, shock struck him so hard that any conversation would have stopped with no hope of it ever restarting.

The lights inside were brighter than the lights outside and there were so many colours that he didn't know where to look. There were many people milling about and some were going to places he couldn't see. Where could they be going? Further ahead was a counter, and a portion of that counter had a glass container. Inside the container was an unhealthy amount of popcorn and people behind the counter were scooping up the popcorn in boxes of different sizes. On the counter was another glass case, this time it displayed loads of colourful packets. Behind the counter was a large black box with colourful buttons, and every time the button was pushed, some liquid came fizzing out and into a waiting cup.

Sirius was entranced as he tried to absorb the myriad of strange things around him.

"Hanging in there, Black?"

"Of course, I am," he said, coming out of his reverie to grin arrogantly at Mary.

Mary laughed and took his hand. He was more than happy to follow her lead as she made her way to the short line at the counter. "Good. You're no stranger to popcorn, yeah? My shout."

"Oh, you don't have to do that."

"I want to."

Sirius raised his brows at her, but he didn't retort. Instead, he shook his head and leaned in to kiss the top of her head. "Thank you."

* * *

Mary was right: the cinema _was_ cosy.

So cosy, in fact, that it took Sirius all his willpower not to pull Mary close to him and snog the hell out of her.

It was strange. Half an hour ago, he had a bit of a panic when the lights went out and the white screen came to life, but with Mary's comforting words, he managed to relax. As he stopped worrying about the strangeness of Mary's beloved Muggle world, he became incredibly aware of the fact that _she was right next to him_. He was conscious of how their arms were a hairsbreadth away from each other on the armrest and every time he glanced at her, he noticed the paleness of her throat due to the harsh lights of the movie. Sometimes, they'd reach for the popcorn at the same time and he'd feel a small electric shock ever time their fingers grazed.

It was the darkness. He knew it was. It compressed him from all sides and made him feel alone, but not quite. It blurred the shadow of every other person in the cinema, blending their silhouettes with the outline of the seats, making him feel like he and Mary were the only ones in the cinema, even though he _knew_ that they weren't. It was a bit of a heady feeling, and he wanted to do something about it, but he wasn't entirely sure how dates worked in the Muggle world. Mary might not appreciate that he'd suddenly make a move on her. He couldn't really ask her because this didn't seem to be the sort of environment that would tolerate noise.

So he did a bit of quick thinking. He glanced surreptitiously at Mary before he made a massive show of yawning. He stretched his arms over his head, but instead of dropping them back on his lap, he carefully moved them across the backs of the seats. If he was careful, he could make it seem like he had _accidentally_ placed his arm around her shoulders.

He was just about to succeed when he felt Mary's slender hand on the inside of his thigh—and dangerously close to his groin.

He froze and swallowed hard.

"I can't believe you're actually doing that." Mary whispered. Sirius glanced at her and found that she was still watching the movie.

"Doing what?" he tried to whisper back. Tried. The words came out more like a squeak.

He felt Mary's shoulders tremble as she laughed quietly, this time turning her head to look at him. "If you want your arm around me, do it. I don't mind." Without another word, she took his wrist and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She moved her hand on a safer spot just above his knee and rested her head on his shoulder as she turned back to the movie.

Sirius was stunned for a few minutes. "Mary?" he whispered after he recovered.

"Hmm?"

"I really want to kiss you."

He watched as Mary's brows rose in surprise. She glanced at him quickly before she shook her head, giggled, and offered him some popcorn. "Shush and watch the movie."

Sirius reluctantly grabbed a bunch of popcorn in his hand. "Later?"

Mary's already amused smile could only widen. "Yeah, later."

* * *

The movie concluded an hour later. Mary held Sirius' hand as she led them out of the cinema. The two made their way back to Mary's house, opting to walk in the middle of the empty street instead of the footpath.

"How was it?" Mary said.

"Very good." Sirius replied. He rolled his eyes when Mary looked at him sceptically. "I mean, it was a bit hard to understand what was going on, but I enjoyed myself."

"Great! I'm glad," Mary said as she gently squeezed Sirius' hand.

Sirius cast his gaze upwards and silently noted how beautiful the stars looked. "So," he drawled, "what're we doing tomorrow?"

"I feel like going to an extravagant dinner, actually."

A smile tugged at the corners of Sirius' lips. "An extravagant dinner? All right."

Mary chuckled, but soon silence fell between them. As Sirius continued to look up, he thought about how perfect his life seemed to be right now. Graduation was only a few months away, he was finally free from his family, and he was lucky enough to date one of the kindest and most beautiful girls in school. Mary was special. Sirius could imagine his life in twenty years and he was certain that Mary would be a part of it. He liked many of the girls he dated, but he felt that he was _destined_ to be with Mary. It certainly didn't make sense and the idea was _downright silly_, but he had no qualms accepting it. In fact, he was eager to embrace the concept altogether.

"Mary?" Sirius said as he stopped walking, a thought occurring to him.

"Yeah?" Mary said as she stopped as well.

When he turned to her, he found that she was looking up at him. The streetlights reflected in her eyes, mimicking the stars above and the shadows made her lips look undeniably kissable. He didn't wait. Tenderly, he caressed her cheek with the knuckles of his free hand, smiling as a blush warmed the skin under his touch. He stroked his thumb along the edge of her bottom lip, waiting for her to close her eyes before he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers. He was thrilled when Mary rose on her toes, threw both arms around his neck, and returned the kiss. He held onto her waist and supported her as he teasingly skimmed his tongue along her bottom lip. Admittedly, this kiss was far from the snog he wanted in the cinema earlier, but it wasn't any less fulfilling.

"Thanks for showing me your world," he said after he—slowly—pulled away. His heart was pounding in his ears and he was out of breath.

The blush was still on Mary's cheeks, but the smile she had on was so happy that Sirius just had to mirror it. "Nothing could have made me happier."


	4. The Best Mates

**Note:** Surprisingly, I have nothing to say much on this particular update, apart from a very sincere thanks to **coconut-dreamer** for the review!

I hope you all enjoy! As always, I'd very much love to hear what you think!

* * *

**Four**

**The Best Mates**

**(On a Date)**

"Are you _sure_ you'll be fine on your own? You can come with us, it won't be a problem."

"Don't be silly, Lily! I wouldn't dare intrude on your date, especially since you and James are doing so well. As your friend that's not on, yeah?"

"I'm still concerned—"

"Lily!"

Mary stepped back the moment she saw James walking their way. With a happy smile, she watched as the messy-haired boy swooped in and enveloped Lily in a tight embrace. Lily wasn't quick to hug him back, understandably surprised, but she was eager when she finally returned the gesture. Lagging a few meters behind James was Sirius Black. He looked as apathetic as ever—or, perhaps, _more_ apathetic than usual since he was completely indifferent to the girls who gave him obvious looks of longing.

He barely glanced at James and Lily before he sidled up next to Mary. "Macdonald," he said.

"Black," she replied with an amused smile.

"I feel like a bloody parent, waiting for James to go off on his little date like this."

Mary's smile widened and looked up at Sirius. "Oh, well, they grow up so fast don't they, _father_?"

Sirius scowled at her. However, before he could retort, James and Lily had finally turned to them, effectively ending the conversation. Mary crossed her arms and appraised the couple thoughtfully. Admittedly, she was dubious of James' future with Lily, but she was glad things turned out this way. And she supposed Sirius was right about the whole parent idea. She felt like a mum, seeing Lily off like this, but it can't be helped. All of them were far away from home. It's only natural that they started treating each other like family. Lily had certainly done the same for her when she started to date.

"We're off," James said as he clapped Sirius on the shoulder.

"I'll find you later, yeah?" Lily said to Mary right before the two of them turned around and walked towards the castle doors.

Mary waited for a full minute before she dropped her arms and sighed. "I'll see you around," she said to Sirius before she walked back the way she came. She thought she'd spend the day in the library since she was behind work again, as usual.

"Mary!"

Sirius sped past her and blocked her way, but she didn't stop walking, and he was forced to walk backwards to catch up. "Do you need something, _Sirius_?" she asked politely.

"Y'know, Hogsmeade's the other way."

"Not going to Hogsmeade."

"Why not?"

Mary glanced at the boy and found that he was frowning. "My friends are on their respective dates. I'm not. I thought I'd spend the day productively." Weeks ago, Doe had planned to spend the trip with Remus; three days ago, Peter had finally gathered the courage to ask Greta out. It so happened that the two girls were Mary's good friends, along with Lily, and it was a quirky twist of fate that the girls had chosen the Marauders as their significant others.

"D'you want to go on a date?"

_That_ made her stop walking. "Sorry?"

"Do you want to go on a date?" Sirius repeated, smirking as he enunciated the words slowly.

Mary crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. The sod looked really pleased with himself. "What do you want, Black?"

Sirius' smirk turned unrepentant. "I want to go to Hogsmeade."

"So go. No one's stopping you."

"But going alone is _lame_; not to mention boring."

"Surely you have friends other than those three."

Sirius shrugged and took a step towards her. "I never went to Hogsmeade with other people. It's either a girl or _those three_."

"And I just happen to be a girl who you can take to Hogsmeade," Mary said, unimpressed.

"Exactly."

Mary sighed and shook her head, though it was more directed at herself. Sirius was a prick, that was a given, but she _just_ knew that she was going to accept anyway. One reason was that she didn't really want to spend the day in the library. The other was the annoying niggling sensation she felt as she looked at Sirius' face. He was still smirking however, she couldn't help but guess that he might be feeling a bit troubled. Maybe even a little lost. Here was a bloke who spent most of his days with his best friends, but he had to face the inevitable reality that other people would see the qualities he saw in them _first_ and would like to have a share of it. His abrasive attitude made it easy for people, including her, to forget that his life wasn't exactly normal. People rarely noticed how much he needed _those three_ in order to life his current life as normal as possible.

"So?" Sirius drawled.

Finally, Mary dropped her arms. "I'll go, but you owe me a round in the pub."

"No deal," Sirius scoffed sardonically.

"We'll see about that." Mary pivoted on her heel and made her way back to the entrance, Sirius not far behind her.

* * *

"You're a bit different today," Mary said as they entered Hogsmeade.

"How so?"

"You're obviously distracted," Mary said, shrugging when Sirius glanced at her curiously. "You barely noticed all the girls looking at you today."

Sirius grinned. "I noticed you."

Mary rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I don't count."

"What, you don't count as a girl?"

"_Right._ I'm not someone you'd ever date. I'm Lily's friend and off-limits… well, apart from doing you shallow favours apparently."

Sirius' grin grew wider. "And yet… here we are."

"It still doesn't count. Now, come on, what the matter with you today?"

Sirius' grin dropped completely. Mary raised her brows expectantly and waited as he visibly struggled to answer her question. "Fine," he said exasperatedly. "It's the end of the Marauders, Macdonald. It's inappropriate to date right now."

"The end? You lads had a fight or something?" Mary frowned. James didn't look upset this morning.

"No!" Sirius said, incensed. "D'you not see me here, alone, and spending time _with you_ while the rest of those gits are off with their precious girlfriends?"

"Oh, you're awfully nice, aren't you?" Mary said sarcastically. Maybe she shouldn't have gone with him, after all. "And you think _that_ spells the end? Please, they all just found someone they want to be with; it hardly speaks the end of your ragtag group."

"What a pathetic excuse. I had plenty of time for them whenever I dated."

"And _that_ is why you have a notorious love life."

Sirius shrugged remorselessly. "At least I can never be accused of forsaking my friends. You understand me, don't you?"

"No, I don't." Mary was quick to answer.

"Come off it!" Sirius exclaimed incredulously. "You're like me! You never stop spending time with your mates just because you're romantically involved. While you don't have a notorious love life, you're not exactly better than me in keeping a significant other. Y'know, I noticed how you're alone nowadays because everybody else is busy being in love. We're in the same boat."

Mary was stunned at the frightening accuracy of Sirius' rant. Her heart skipped a beat and cold sweat broke over the back of her neck, but she didn't miss a step and she showed nothing in her expression. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bollocks. Cresswell was sloshed on something one night and complained to me. You never had time for the poor git while you dated him—you never had time for any of the poor gits you dated."

"Merlin. I always knew that one was a complete dick," Mary muttered, her shoulders sagging in defeat.

"He is," Sirius agreed with a chuckle.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm happy that my friends are happy. Simple as that."

"But—"

Mary raised her hand to stop him. "One day, Black, you'll find someone who'll make you feel exactly the same way as the others feel now. Maybe more. Then you'll feel like a complete prat for being selfish. This is one of those things you'd even wish on your worst enemy."

"Not bloody likely," Sirius scoffed.

"Well, whatever. Personally, I think _everyone_ deserves love at some point in their lives."

The two of them stopped walking when they reached the Three Broomsticks. As Mary looked up at Sirius, she found him staring far ahead with a thoughtful frown on his face. She was starting to wonder if she had said anything offensive when he turned back to her, his expression now impassive.

"Butterbeer?" he said.

Mary quirked one brow at him and smiled slowly. "Your shout."

Sirius rolled his eyes, but he smiled in an annoyed and defeated way. "Of course."

* * *

"D'you think James and Evans are right for each other?"

Mary lowered the glass from her lips. She glanced at Sirius surreptitiously, wary of the direction this question would inevitably go. "I thought we're done with this," she said. "What you think has no business with their relationship."

"Oh, I think it does." Sirius raised his brows appraisingly at Mary. "What you think counts as well. We're the best mates, yeah? Those two are like siblings to us."

"Be that as it may, but Black—"

"For example," Sirius began, talking over her, "and you can disagree with me on this, I thought the whole thing with love is that it's unconditional? James had to change before Evans could even look at him. That's not unconditional love, is it? That's the sort of love that has loads of bloody rules and guidelines all over it!"

Mary scowled as she began to feel uncomfortable… and angry. She _really_ shouldn't have gone with him. "Sirius—" she tried to interrupt.

"I mean, isn't she supposed to love him as he is? That's the whole point, yeah? Y'know, I reckon she's waited for James to come to this point before she decided to act—"

"Stop—"

"—and before we all know it, she'll tear his heart to pieces. I reckon this is all a plot to avenge ickle _Snivellus—_"

Mary couldn't hear another word. She grabbed her half-full pint of butterbeer and, without hesitation, tossed the drink squarely at Sirius' face. The sudden attack stopped the Marauder mid-tirade. He'd instinctively closed his eyes, but Mary suspected that she'd just made him angry. The remnants of the butterbeer flowed between her fingers, and Sirius remained frozen as she reached for her handkerchief and proceeded to wipe her hand.

"You can complain about your friends all you want," she said with a low voice. "But you can't expect me to just sit here and let you insult my friend."

Sirius slowly opened his eyes, but Mary didn't give him the chance to react as she slapped the soiled cloth at his face so he could wipe the butterbeer off as well.

"I don't know what kind of bollocks you're talking about, but Lily would never do such a vindictive thing like that. You seem to forget that James fancied her first; he was a massive git so Lily didn't like him. The way I see it, it was up to him to find a way for her to notice him. He did that and now he's so fucking happy that if he could bounce off the bloody walls, he would. Surely you saw that this morning?" Mary leaned against the booth and crossed her arms obstinately. "I understand you're jealous and lonely because you feel like you're losing your mates, I feel the same way, but I draw the line at directly attacking a person's character."

Mary watched warily as Sirius took the handkerchief from his face, dropped it one the table, and instead siphoned the butterbeer off his face with his wand. She was still angry, but now she was slightly nervous as well. She'd just thrown butterbeer at Sirius Black's face and then harshly reprimanded him—not that she regretted giving him a lecture, but she was now a bit apprehensive of what the boy might do. For a moment, she had forgotten that he was a Marauder and a pureblood. Someone dangerous.

"You threw butterbeer at my face." Sirius finally spoke with a calm voice.

Mary felt more nervous. Merlin, she really shouldn't have gone with him. "If it were me insulting James you would've done much worse."

Sirius chuckled as he smirked. "Touché," he said. He glanced at her cursorily before he took her handkerchief and siphoned the butterbeer off. Silently, he offered the now clean piece of cloth to her. Mary hesitated before she took the handkerchief back, slightly relieved that he wouldn't hex her.

* * *

"So… how was I as a date today?"

Mary didn't even glance at Sirius as he walked beside her. It was, thankfully, the end of the day. Mary and Sirius were among the many Hogwarts students making their way back to the castle. Mary was carrying two large bags of Honeydukes sweets while Sirius carried nothing, hands buried in his pockets again.

"Abysmal," she said without batting an eye.

"_Abysmal_?"

"Yes. I tried to think of something worse, but I don't think the English language has yet to invent a word for how utterly rubbish you are. I don't understand how girls like you."

Sirius laughed. "Come on, I can't be that bad."

Mary glanced at him incredulously. "You used me because don't want to be alone in Hogsmeade, yet you alluded that I wasn't a good companion. You insulted your mates. You insulted _mine. _And all because you were jealous. You didn't even apologise for what you said. Finally, you didn't offer to carry my bags for me."

"Oh. Well, then, I'm sorry for—"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Don't bother if you don't mean it."

"Okay, then, at least let me carry—"

"No."

Sirius laughed again. "Y'know, if you say it like that it does sound like I'm _abysmal_."

"I'm not saying it like that; I'm saying it as it is." As they neared the castle entrance, Mary shoved one Honeydukes bag hard on Sirius' chest. "Here."

Sirius coughed at the force of Mary's shove. "What is this?"

"Payment for the bleeding butterbeer, and peace offering for your friends."

"Peace offering? I didn't insult them in their faces, Macdonald."

"No, you insulted them behind their back, which is much worse." They finally stepped inside the castle. Mary glared at Sirius as her way of saying goodbye before she wordlessly turned away from him and marched towards the direction of… well, _somewhere_. Not the Gryffindor Tower, though, not yet, because Sirius might go that way. She was, unsurprisingly, sick of seeing his face after a day of suffering through his rubbish attitude. She shouldn't have gone with him, empathy for his plight be damned.

"Oi, Macdonald!" Sirius' voice rang throughout the entrance hall. "I might be alone again next Hogsmeade trip, you think—?"

"No." Mary yelled back with a roll of her eyes. She'd rather date a Hungarian Horntail.


End file.
